The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-07-21
SWINE ON PASTURE.
Why They Should be Fed Coarse Food In
Addition to Grass.

Way They Should be Fed Coarse Food In
Addition to Grass.
All feeders of swine ought to under
stand that it is more profitable TO feed
grain to the swine while they are on
pasture than later in the year. but they
do not appear to. The farmer is so
wearied with the expense of the long,
cold winter, and he rejoices so much on
the return of spring, that he simply
turns his pigs to grass, and thinks his
duty is done till cold weather comes
again. He forgets that every thing
makes its growth in warm weather, and
that animals can not grow in cold
weather. except by artificial warmth
produced by warm quarters, fuel and
food. The summer season is so favor
able to growth that pigs will thrive on
grass alone. but the growth will be small
compared to that of full feeding
on grass and grain. The grass is the
food furnished by nature for slow
growth of animals. and will keep the
pigs healthy; but the pig is adapted to
concentrated food, and small ration
in connection with the grass will cause
a very rapid gain in weight. One-half
this extra food given in summer will
produce Il better result than double the
Quantity fed in winter; and yet the ma
jority of all pig feeding is done in cold
weather. When the farmer begins to
feed for fattening, he usually shuts
up his pigs in quarters where they get
no coarse or succulent food, and plies
them with concentrated grain alone.
They will gain rapidly for time, but
as the stomach is not adapted to such
concentrated food alone. in short
time they get cloyed, and gain very
slowly or not ut all.
Now the true way to fatten pigs, at
any season of the year, is to give por-
ton Of coarse food, such as turnips,
beets, carrots, potatoes. cooked clover
hay or grass, the last being the natural
food of the pig, and in summer always
at hand. While in cold weather it Is
necessary to resort to roots, which have
required manual labor to grow, in sum-
mer the pig can get its own grass, and
only requires moderate allowance of
grain to keep it growing rapidly and
have it ready for the knife when grass
ceases to grow. If we take all the hogs.
fattened in the United States in Il year,
and change the time of fattening from
cold to warm weather, One-half of the.
grain now fed will make all the pork
This would be saving of food, at.
least, to the amount of $4,000, 900 per
year.
We once divided litter of eight pigs,
three months old in June, each four
weighing 2SO pounds, or 20 pounds.
apiece, pat them all upon clover pasture,
but fed one lot in addition to clover for
the first month, five pounds per day of
corn meal and bran, half and halt;
second month, eight pounds per day;
third month, ten pounds; fourth month,
twelve pounds per day, or 1.05O pounds.
i'm all. Each lot had all the grass they
could eat, and were treated qaite alike,
except the extra feed of bran and meal.
The lot on grass alone weighed 4S0
pounds, the lot On grass, bran and meal
turned the scales at $50, or 100 pounds
each more. This 100 pounds on each
pig cost 262 pounds of bran and meal.
At this time the lot fed extra were
killed. and dressed 740 pounds. The
other lot were then put in pen and fed
for one hundred days, consumed 1900
pounds of corn meal and 500 pounds Of
bran, and weighed $40 pounds when
they were killed. and dressed 1873
pounds, having slightly less offal than
the first lot; but it took $50 pounds Of
extra meal and bran and one hundred
days time to bring these four pigs to-
about the same weight of the other lot
And from this experiment we regard
grain fed in warm weather with grass
as worth double that fed alone in cold
weather. 1t is not to be supposed that
every pig will be fattened IN warm
weather, but the system of feeding
should certainly be changed. and the
great bulk of pigs should be fattened in
warm weather instead of cold--NG-
;onaI LiUe- Stock Journal.